Bookish review: Mark Gatiss's detective drama could run and run

Gatiss's love for the genre is even more obvious in Bookish, his latest creation and a clear passion project for the writer and actor.

Unusually for Gatiss, he is striking out on his own here. Although he has a co-writer in Matthew Sweet, he is unmoored from any IP like Doctor Who or Dracula, and from any of his former collaborators like Steven Moffat or the League of Gentlemen.

It's perhaps, therefore, unsurprising that this feels like such a singular vision, from a writer excited not only to delve into a genre and its tropes, but also create something new.

At a time when TV is absolutely flooded with detective dramas, almost to the point of bursting, it's impressive how much Bookish manages to stand out, and how much it feels like a breath of fresh air.

Not satisfied with just creating the series, Gatiss also stars in Bookish as Gabriel Book, an antiquarian bookshop owner in 1946 London. If you think that's too many uses of the word "book", just wait until you watch the show.

The bookshop may be a useful tool for Book, as he searches through his archives to find clues, and it acts as a sort of home base for the series, but we're not here to watch the day-to-day work he does there. Instead, we're here to see him catch some killers.

That's because Book has another pursuit, which takes up what appears to be the bulk of his time - helping the police solve some truly devious crimes.

Every two episodes follow one mystery, while the start of the series also sees the arrival of Jack (Connor Finch), a young man fresh out of prison who Book and his wife Trottie (Polly Walker) have a puzzling interest in, and hire to work in the shop.

We also learn early on a crucial detail surrounding Book and Trottie's marriage - they are best friends, but it's a lavender marriage, with Book being secretly homosexual at a time where to be so was illegal, and Trottie pursuing her own dalliances elsewhere.

One of Gatiss's canniest decisions in creating the show's set-up is to have Book already very much on side with the police. He and Elliot Levey's Inspector Bliss have an already established working dynamic, which means there's no need to repeatedly explain how Book gets involved, how he gets on to a crime scene. Any unnecessary conflict is done away with.

This means we get into each of the mysteries quickly, allowing each of them to play out at pace across the two episodes which each one straddles.

This structure is not a new one for the mystery genre, but here it really works, with Gatiss mining the cliffhangers for all they're worth, and adding enough hooks and twists throughout to keep things interesting.

Meanwhile, we actually get to know the characters in each mystery, and engage in their situations beyond the specifics of how they interacted with the victim(s).

This is particularly important given the time period. Gatiss is not just interested in unraveling puzzles, but he's specifically interested in examining the post-war era, and what it meant for British society. Each character and each setting adds to that examination.

For the most part, the structure works, but, as is often the case with murder-of-the-week-type dramas, the overarching storyline can at times get a bit of a short shrift and feel underdeveloped.

This is perhaps only notable because what we are given is so strong. The storyline surrounding Jack and his involvement with the Books is intriguing, but feels like its on speed-run. Meanwhile, the details of Book's homosexuality and his relationship with Trottie add a real emotional depth to proceedings, but once again, a little more exploration would be welcome.

Then there are some characters, most obviously Blake Harrison's Sergeant Morris and Buket Kömür's Nora, who get very little to do indeed.

They're both fine actors, and it's a shame to admit that they do feel supremely wasted here, often functioning more as window-dressing to fill out the world, rather than character's with utility in their own right.

It's just a bit overstuffed - it's clear Gatiss has so much he wants to talk about here and is bristling with ideas, but there just might be one too many for a six-part series, which also has to stick to some genre conventions.

All that aside, there are a few clear reasons why Bookish works so well, but the most evident of them all is the tone.

Gatiss just gets the tonal space in which a series like this should live. You probably have a sense of that given the whole Bookish, Gabriel Book, bookshop situation. This is not a gritty series aiming for a dark examination of the impact a murder has on a community.

No, this is nearer the end of the spectrum where murders are an interesting puzzle to be solved, with little emotional engagement in that aspect of the narrative. It isn't quite 'cosy crime' as we've come to know it - it more fits in the tradition of Agatha Christie. In fact, there's more than a bit of Poirot about it all.

At times, given Book's eccentricities and some of the stock 1940s-style characters it features, you could say it verges on parody - however, it's crucial that it never actually becomes such.

It just tiptoes around that line perfectly, making sure each episode is full of humour, light and a bit of a wink to the audience, but without undermining the weight of some of the more serious, personal stories tackled.

It also helps that Gatiss is front and centre here. The show feels so authored and specific that one wonders whether anyone else could have quite pulled off the performance he does.

As already mentioned, the character is no doubt eccentric. From his very affected pipe-chewing to his particular staccato manner of speaking, everything about this screams TV detective, but in a way which feels charming and dutifully referential, rather than cliché.

The character is not abrasive, as so many detectives have been, but neither is he particularly warm. He's somewhat unknowable, but we certainly get more of a handle on him as the episodes roll on.

It's unclear whether the episodes were shot in order, but it does at times feel that way - as though Gatiss is also figuring out who Book is as he goes, and becoming more and more assured about each of his decisions.

He isn't the only one doing good work here. Walker, Finch and Levey all fill out their supporting roles brilliantly, and are given their due by the scripts. Their characters become as crucial to the show's vibe as Book does, making the whole thing feel like a filled-out world, rather than a more narrow exploration of one man.

Gatiss and the team have also assembled an impressive guest cast, with the likes of Joely Richardson, Daniel Mays and Paul McGann stepping into roles for each individual mystery. It's a calibre of guest star which really does help to elevate the entire series, particularly when you're putting it in comparison with other recent detective series.

That elevation is also helped along by the look of the show, with excellent production design making the whole thing deeply immersive.

The chances are that fans of Gatiss, or of detective dramas, will know what to expect from Bookish. For the most part, it's likely that their predictions are fairly on the money - perhaps it delves deeper into the emotional lives of its characters and social issues of the era than they might expect, but really it's a drama which sets out to fit neatly into a genre, rather than revolutionise it.

In this, it absolutely succeeds. Bookish is supremely watchable and provides us with a brilliant new TV detective, some craftily constructed puzzles and a fascinating look at post-war London.

In fact, it really is saying something that the biggest problem with this first season is that some elements and characters end up feeling underutilised - particularly when we know a second season is already on the way to potentially rectify this issue.

Here's hoping, should Gatiss be interested in the long haul, there will be many more seasons to come. This really does feel like a series that could run and run.

Bookish will air on U&Alibi from Wednesday 16th July 2025.

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